The
inhumane suppression of the Tamil speaking people within Sri Lanka has
continued for far too long. What is meant by the term “Tamil-speaking
people” is that, in addition to indigenous “Ceylon Tamils” and the “Hill
Country Tamils” of Indian origin [1], we include here the
Ceylon Moors and the Burghers.

British Colonialists
(British arrived in 1796) brought the Hill Country Tamils into Sri Lanka
as indentured labor in the beginning of 19th Century. The
Ceylon Moors trace their origins to the Arab traders and some were
converts to Islam from the indigenous population. The Burghers are
mixed-race descendents of colonialists: Portuguese and Dutch.
Particularly for the Burghers in the North East territories, their first
language is Tamil -- similar to the Moors.

The idea of the UN
recognized right to self-determination for Tamils therefore encompasses
emancipation for all these populations. The Tamil armed resistance
Movement (The Tamil Tigers, LTTE) has grown to be the sole representative
of “Tamil speaking people”. This idea presents the Sinhala chauvinist Sri
Lankan Government (SLG) with the primary intellectual threat ever faced by
the Mahavamsa-inspired supremacy ideology. The idea of self-government for
the Tamils in political, economic, social and cultural spheres poses even
a further threat against the politico-Buddhist police state!

In this context, the
SLG is seeking the support of the international community with the
seductive persuasion that the Tamil Tigers are a terrorist organization.
They are convinced that in the post-9/11 West such an argument must push
the right buttons. The Tamils, on the other hand, are appealing to the
international community for the endorsement of their struggle for human
rights and their cry for freedom. The Tamils seem to recognize the
importance of being a player on the global stage basing its trust on
ethical and moral leanings. It is, however, blatantly evident that the
Western Nations with their trade agendas are primarily interested in their
geo-political corporate maneuverings. Hence, the cutthroat game lies in
the inherent greed for trade and economic gain. While taking control of
the lion’s share of the pie, the West would want to ensure that nothing
undermines the subtle enforcing of imperialistic mechanisms in the South
Asian region.

Geo-strategic
reality moves the National Tamil Question on to another plane. The
West-initiated peace process and the impotent Ceasefire Agreement
(CFA) will need to be looked at in the light of global politics and
corporate economics.

The open secret is
that the U.S intends to tighten its grip on cheap oil processing plants in
the Arab world -- especially in Iraq. Currently this program is unleashed
under the respectable pretext of ushering in democracy. No subtle
observation is required to work that out; it requires furthering America’s
military presence in that part of the world perhaps by establishing a
symbiotic relationship with the emerging regional power (i.e., India).
[2] If this plan were to go ahead with a “wink and a
nod”, then the strategic proximity of Trincomalee presents itself as a
tempting proposition.

The Trincomalee
natural harbor lies within the Tamil homeland. To put it in another way,
the dispossessed Tamils are sitting on a potential gold mine. This brings
a mountain of challenges into the equation. For the West -- that is to
say, EU and the U.S. notwithstanding India -- political autonomy for the
Tamils is a slightly prickly subject. On the one hand, it is doubtful that
the de facto Tamil state would cooperate with the U.S in establishing a
naval base in Trincomalee. It is common knowledge that the Tamil Tigers
would be less agreeable to an arrangement whereby Trincomalee -- the
Thamil Eelam’s Capitol Hill -- becomes something like “an Asian equivalent
of a German base” for the U.S. On the other hand, if the autonomy of the
Tamils was to be internationally recognized in the North East territories
(Thamil Eelam) then the U.S could be best placed to have meaningful
negotiations with the Tamils regarding its strategic interests.

Prior to the
independence of Ceylon from the British in 1949, just preceding the formal
transfer of power, Don Stephen Senanayake,
a loyal collaborator, signed a “defense agreement” with Britain which
allowed the British military to retain control, even after independence,
over their naval base at Trincomalee on the east coast. This remained the
British naval HQ until 1957.

A Hindustan Times
article on SriLanka’s Strategic Importance[3]
cites three primary reasons for Trincomalee to be of geo-political
interest: 1) strategic location, 2) ideally situated to be a major
communication centre, 3) one of the finest harbors in the world.

So in fact, it is
the settling of geo-political accounts first that would eventually lend it
self to a negotiated settlement in Sri Lanka.

The non-violent
battle for the recovery of lost Tamil sovereignty began in the early
1950’s. The guiding principles for a separate Thamil Eelam were expounded
by Dr. Thiyagarasa in a self-published booklet in 1957. Then, in 1961,
Mr. C Sundaralingam wrote a book on the same subject and formed a
political party (Suya Artchi Kalagam)on that platform of
secession. The TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) put forward the
secessionist principle through the Vaddukoddai Resolution. In
1977, it put that principle to a democratic test and won a landslide
victory. This victory brought to parliament, for the first time in its
history, a Tamil opposition leader!

The argument of the
SLG that there is no major Tamil support for the cause for Eelam is like
looking for hen-teeth. However the Democratic processes were
systematically undermined by the Sinhala State through institutionalized
racism, brute force and State terror. The Tamils were left with no other
option but to defend them.

The repetitious
Tamil holocaust has not caught the attention of the world media. The
Tamils, since the 1950s, have been humiliatingly subjugated by the Sinhala
state. The consequence of that state terror was the Tamil Tigers.

“When a government
takes up arms against its unarmed subjects” said Mahathma Gandhi, “then it
has forfeited its right to govern.” [4]

The SLG has
completely lost its moral compass. Owing to its duplicitous dealings in
the past years, it has resoundingly undermined its own credibility among
the Tamil populace.

The endorsement of
democratic self-government for the Tamil-speaking people will have to be
carefully chartered between the Devil and the deep blue sea: The first
being the Sinhala state’s claim to be the “sole sons of the soil” by
divine right vying for the control of the Tamil nation. And the latter
being the Western geo-political, strategic and corporate interests vying
for influence and political posture (in terms of international sea lanes)
in Asia in order to base itself at a stone’s throw from the Arabian Gulf.

From where in these
heated competing monologues where do the Tamils come in?

The self-government
of the Tamils is currently a reality within the nascent Tamil State.

At a recent Tamil
Resurgence Conference the Tamil Tigers have called on the Tamil Bards in
order for the National Anthem to be written in “immaculate Tamil”. The
Tamil net, an alternative news web reported: “The call for a National
anthem comes in the wake of the Tamil Eelam National Flag and National
Flower already been established.” [5]

The threat of
suppressing Tamil aspirations through militaristic means has proved to be
a very weak option indeed.

The onus might be
placed at the door of the UN to urge the US and the western corporate
giants to deal justly with the aspirations of the Tamil people -- not
solely with economic interest in mind. Having said that, we must be
mindful of the fact that: “Of the hundred largest economies today, 51 are
corporations and only 49 are nation states.” Rabbi Sacks writes: “Several
factors make it difficult to integrate them into a coherent policy arena.
They exist to make a profit for shareholders. That is their raison
d’etre and logic of decision making.” [6]

There can be no
dialogue when competing monologues are at work and hardly any one is
listening. The Sinhala state cannot continue to play the role of an artful
dodger. The post-tsunami aid distribution and redevelopment revealed to
the world that the Tamils do not even have an equitable share in the
economic affairs of the island. The two-state solution has proved yet
again, to be the only way in which the Tamil speaking people can live in
honorable peace. If justice is truth in action; and if there is to be
reconciliation to heal wounds then the truth has to be confronted. The
international community has to offer that moral vision and leadership!

The perennial issue
remains simple: As long as the Tamils remain aggrieved no Dialogue is
going to be a walk in the park.

Reverend Sinnathurai,
currently reading for his Doctorate, is a Christian priest trained in the
West. He traveled extensively in the northeastern Tamil territories
post-tsunami for humanitarian work and did a series of interviews
with the de facto Tamil state senior officials (Tiger Top Guns).
These articles, entitled “Eelam Encounters,” can be read at
www.Sangam.org.